Currently live in Chicago but want to move to Houston next July. Credit current around 590-610. Chapter 7 in 2001(discharged)/Chapter 13 2003(dismissed). No credit card debt. Consolidated student loans. No auto loans. Credit report has collections from cable & utility companies plus misc. bullsh**. I plan on taking my tax refund in February to clear up everything except the student loans. I also plan to make monthly on-time payments for my current rent/utilities/student loans to have 12 months of steady payments. If I am able to succeed, will this look favorable to mortgage companies? I already expect to pay a higher interest rate because of my credit. I’ll be looking for 30 year fixed rates with 100% financing. What else can I do now to prepare myself and better myself for mortgage financing?
Before anyone says, “Don’t waste your time being an LPN, go right to school for RN”, I am early into the LPN program as I write this and am, as of this time, only going to go for the LPN.
That said, how is the job market for LPNs in New York City? Are there alot of jobs for LPNs in NYC? How is the pay? How is the pay compared to the cost of living in NYC?
Can you think of any other places where there are plenty of jobs for LPNs that pay well and the cost of living isn’t ridiculous? Someplace in New Jersey, perhaps, or Maryland, Delaware, or Virginia?
Here in PA, the average starting salary for an LPN at a hospital is between $ 13 and $ 15 per hour, at nursing homes it ranges from $ 14 to $ 18 per hour (for LPNs). I would desire to make at least $ 16 per hour to start (I want to be able to pay off student loans within a year, then save for a down payment on a house, buy the house, be able to pay bills and mortgage with plenty left over to save).
My husband and I have a combined income of 40,000. He works part-time and is in grad school and I work full-time. We want to purchase a home in Hampton Roads Virginia for no more than 170,000. Our debts a month is one 370 car payment and 421 for my consolidated student loans. His car is payed off already. My question is how hard would it be for us to get pre-approved. Our credit cards will have $ 1000 combined once we go for approval in December. The one thing I am concerned is I have undergrad student loans in my name but my parents are paying off my undergrad loans. How will this affect pre-approval and is there something i could do to show the lender that the loans are being paid for by my parents. I’m worried about the debt-to-income ratio aspect of pre-approval. We also will have $ 7000 in savings by December when we go for pre-approval.
Both our credit scores are in the 700s.
Also, we are using a VA loan. Husband is in the Reserves, we already have certificate of eligibility
Thanks for all your advice. I wanted to clarify that I wasn’t particularly going for 170,000 I wanted to stay in the 140s or 150s but was told that you try to get approve for a higher amount that what you really want to buy.
I live in Massachusetts and found a beautiful townhouse style condo in a city that I love for 200K asking price. I am 25 years old, make 55 K a year, and have no debt (no car payments, no credit card debt, no student loans). I am responsible with money but I have also just started out in the world after finishing graduate school – meaning I do not have much for a downpayment, although I have already managed to stash away 8 K. I do not want to ask my parents for a downpayment even though they offered.
I applied for a pre-approval mortgage from a reputable bank, but they emailed to say they neither approved nor rejected me for the mortgage and that my situation was “complicated” and they would need to call to discuss. Obviously my heart sank a little.
What do you think? Am I a red flag or is this a possibility? What can I do to improve my situation?
Just to add some details. I have excellent credit and I already pay 1400 a month for rent in this area with no issues. Boston is not cheap.
I would like to get everyone’s opinion on what I should do. Here’s my situation:
1. I’m married and both my wife and I are fully employed and our combined gross income is $ 178,000/year.
2. We have paid off our new-ish (2010) cars
3. Do not have any credit card, personal, or student loans
4. We are maximizing our 401(k) and IRA
5. We have two houses; the house we live in in Atlanta, GA with a $ 245,000 loan with 4.875% VA loan with balance $ 244,000. The monthly total mortgage payment is $ 1600. The second house is in Maryville, TN (near Knoxville) with a $ 145,000 loan with 6% loan with balance of $ 138,000. With a monthly mortgage payment of $ 1060. It is currently rented with montly rent of $ 800.
The question is, should we work on paying our house(s) off? And if we do, which one should we pay off first? Anything else we can do with the extra money?
I have been hearing that lenders will be discontinuing the stated income loan completely. Does this mean that everyone will need to provide tax returns, w2′s and paystubs to qualify for residential refinance and purchase loans? How many of you can qualify with what you make to refiance or buy a house? Will everyone have to have an overall debt (monthly minimum payments (on credit report), mortgage payment, property tax and homeowner insurance) vs income ratio of 45% or less? Let’s say you make $ 3500 a month can you afford to buy a house, pay taxes and insurance on it, pay your car payment, credit cards or student loans and still stay at $ 1500 month total payments so that you qualify? Does anyone think this is unrealistic?
I’m currently renting and paying $ 450 a month. With the house price range and location I am looking ($ 50,000 or less in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Very possible to find a nice starter house in that range), I would pay not too much more a month (say $ 550 total) for a house including mortgage, insurance, PMI, and taxes (The bank did the math, not me). I have found a program for the city I want to buy where they give you an $ 10,000 no payment interest free loan for as long as you live in the house you buy. That is used to cover the down payment. I’ve done all the leg work and I know I qualify, but now I have to save for closing costs and stuff.
Here’s my problem. I have about $ 30,000 in student loans. Most of them are around 6.5% interest (kinda averaging them) but I have two Private loans with 9%+ and 11%+ interest. Those two total to about 5 grand of my debt. I had been sending about $ 400-$ 500 a month EXTRA to the highest rate loan trying to pay off my loans asap.
My loans just went into repayment in August so I haven’t done this for too long. My goal was to pay off my loans in 5 years THEN start saving for a house (Thinking by the time I’m 30 I would buy a house). But now I’m feeling like renting for that long is not a wise option since I really am happy with my job and don’t plan to leave the area.
So I am thinking of saving that $ 400+ a month for buying a house. I know the interest rates on my private loans are high and I’m wondering if it would be unwise to stop paying that extra. I guess my thinking was the $ 450 a month I spend on rent over the years is much worse than the interest I would rack up saving for a house, even if it took a year or so. I’ve been renting for about 3.5 years now so I’ve lived on my own for some time and I feel ready for the next step.
What would you do or tell me if I were your daughter? I’m wondering is it at least ok to save the money just so I can have options? I mean, let’s say I saved 5 grand in a year. I could always decide not to buy and just throw that into student loans. But if I don’t save anything and pay extra on the loans, I’ll never be in a position to buy.
BTW, student loans are my ONLY debt. I don’t use my credit card (athough I charged $ 3 to it the other day because I heard they might close it for inactivity) and I bought my car with cash.
BTW, student loans are my ONLY debt. I don’t use my credit card (athough I charged $ 3 to it the other day because I heard they might close it for inactivity) and I bought my car with cash.
Please don’t tell me to stick with my plan. I’ve thrown three different plans out there so I have no idea which one you are talking about.
I’m a junior at a local university right now, I have an OK gpa I’m not flunking out, I just really hate my life here, I would genuinely rather die than go to school any longer here. I’m bored as all hell here, I’m going to be in a ton of debt since fanny mae, or whatever the thief calls itself, makes you sign for student loans in blood for all intensive purposes. My parents help and are supportive, but since their divorce they are both poor themselves and cannot do a lot, I hate asking them for $ , I really do. I can’t afford to wash my clothes at the moment, I owe money for rent, probably going to get kicked out soon, heard my roommates complaining today. Just got 400 dollars in tickets for drinking a god damn beer because I’m “destroying the community” by doing that apparently (fuck the police here, they can’t catch people the people robbing, dealing drugs, or shooting people in town, but they can sure write drinking tickets to calm, otherwise innocent pedestrians with a slight buzz). I don’t even enjoy anything I’m studying, it’s all just BS book work, “taught” by arrogant foreigners who are too worthless to do anything but teach and probably only have their jobs because they’re foreign (cost less to the university), I mean 1/3 of them can only speak 1/4 of the english language at all. I need to get out of this place, but I have nowhere to go, and no means of doing it. I have thought about joining the military, I’m sure I could get in the air force, you know something reasonably safe and maybe even fun/enjoyable, as I’m fairly sharp if I say so myself, except now I worry that my new found criminal record will deny me a lot of opportunity there, friends say they’re strict with that stuff which makes sense I suppose. I will never join the Army or Marines, god bless them, but I have no interest in going through what my brother did, he will never be the same after invading Iraq. I’m literally ready to just die, I have nothing, I can’t afford to eat anything but ramen, I’ve been gaining weight, losing my health, I can barely sleep, I have a new wierd lump on my stomach, hopefully its cancer so I have an excuse to die soon. I hate every aspect of my life and I really either need to leave or just die right now… Any suggestions? I’m more than willing to move infinity miles away from this redneck gathering called Minnesota. I know college is the way to go for a financially sound future and all, but there’s got to be another way, I want to go do something, make a couple bucks, live a little, because right now I’m not, I can barely afford to eat right now, I don’t even like going anywhere anymore because I look like such dirty, poor shit… thanks…
I already have my associates degree, not sure how helpful that really is though…
I keep reading about student loans where the payment increases because they have compounding interest. Why aren’t they set up like a mortgage where there is one monthly payment that never increases?
I am far beyond college and never had student loans, so I wonder about the stories I read on balances going up and up. How can they go up if the people set up a payment schedule?
Traditional mortgages themselves never go up – the taxes and insurance can, but the principle and interest stay the same.
buy a home